


Golden Boy

by thesaddestboner



Series: Beyond the Glory [1]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Domestic Violence, Drabble, Gen, POV First Person, this is old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-05-28
Updated: 2002-05-28
Packaged: 2018-05-27 02:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6265984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesaddestboner/pseuds/thesaddestboner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Bobby and Joanne Hull's turbulent marriage, from Brett's point of view.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Golden Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Brett Hull _Beyond the Glory_ TV program.
> 
> Title from the song of the same name by Natalie Merchant.
> 
> You can find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/thesaddestboner) and [tumblr](http://saddestboner.tumblr.com).

A loud, jarring crash wakes me up in the middle of the night.

They're going at it again. 

I cover my head with my pillow and try to shut them out, but they're always so loud. I can hear them through my walls. 

I hear a muffled cry through the thick walls, my mother. 

I curl into a ball in my bed, trying to shut them out. 

"Bobby, stop! The children - "

I cover my ears with my hands, eyes squeezed shut. You'd think I'd get used to them by now, you'd think I'd be able to shut them out by now.

"Brett."

I look up and see my little sister, Michelle, standing in my doorway, her eyes wide with fear. She clutches a teddy bear in her arms, and her blonde hair is wild and unkempt.

"What is it, Michelle?" I ask, sitting up in bed and squinting, rubbing my eyes with the pads of my hands.

"Mommy and Daddy are keeping me up," she says, clinging to my doorframe. 

"C'mere." I hold out my arm and Michelle climbs into my lap, wrapping her skinny little arms around my waist.

"Will he kill her?" she asks, burying her cheek against my chest.

"He loves Mommy, Michelle. He'd never do anything like that," I reply, although now, I'm not entirely sure.

"It doesn't sound like he loves her," Michelle grumbles, wiping at her eyes.

Now, a shattering sound, and an angry yell. My father.

"Godammit, Joanne! Look what you've done!" he yells, his voice reverberating through my walls. He sounds drunk again.

"The childre - "

A slap, my mother's sobs.

I get so angry, I clench my hands into fists and dig my fingernails into the heels of my hands. "I'm going to go in there and stop him, Michelle. You stay here, in my room." I push her off of my lap and march toward my door.

Michelle catches the back of my t-shirt with her hand. "He'll hurt you too, Brett!"

"Mom needs me, Michelle." I pry her fingers open and extract my t-shirt. I shut my door behind me and pad down the hall, toward Mom and Dad's room. I can hear her sobs from beyond the closed door, and the heavy footsteps of my father, as he paces their bedroom.

"Damn you, Joanne," he rasps, drunkenly, "look what you made me do."

I stand outside the door, hand poised over the doorknob. 

"I can't take this anymore, Bobby," she whimpers. 

"This is all your fault," he slurs, bumping against something in their bedroom. "If you didn't make me so goddammed mad, maybe I wouldn't have to punish you!"

"Maybe if you didn't get so drunk, you wouldn't get out of control!" Mom fires back.

He slaps her again, and I lose it. I'm not going to stand by while my father beats the shit out of my mother, again. I throw open the door.

"Brett!" Mom quickly covers herself with her robe and jumps to her feet, flattening her hair and wiping at her eyes.

The purple bruising around her eye is unmistakable.

"Mom, are you okay?" I ask, stepping into the room, shutting the door behind me. "I heard some noises, and I was wondering if everything was okay."

"Oh, honey, I just tripped over your father's shoe and fell into the corner of the dresser," she says, breathlessly, forcing out a laugh. "Clumsy me."

My eyes dart around the bedroom. "Where's Dad?" I ask, shoving my hands into the pockets of my pajamas.

"He's in the bathroom, taking a show - " Mom stops herself when I turn to head toward the bathroom. "Brett, no! Don't go in there!"

I throw open the bathroom door. "What the fuck do you think you're doing to our family?!" I cry, slamming my fist onto the counter top. "What are you doing to us?!"

Dad stares at me, hunched over the toilet, wiping a string of saliva from his mouth. "Get outta here, Brett," he slurs, pointing to the door. "Get out."

"You married her, you asshole! You swore to love, honor and cherish her! What the hell are you doing to her?!" I cry, not backing down, too far gone to reel myself in. 

"How dare you question me, young man," my father snaps, standing up and flushing the toilet. "I'm your father. I made the family name great. You have no right - "

"You asshole, you beat her senseless!" I explode. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

Dad lunges forward and grabs my arm, shoving his beer-soaked breath into my face. "I'm the fucking breadwinner of this family. I can do what I damn well please, you understand me, boy?" he barks at me, squeezing his hand into my fleshy arm.

"Bobby, let him go! Keep the children out of this," Mom cries, standing in the doorway. "Let him go!"

I pull away from him and turn on Mom, glaring at her. "How can you let him do this to you?!"

"Brett, please, just go back to bed - " she begins, but I cut her off.

"We hear everything, Mom! We know what he does to you! Michelle has nightmares! We can't sleep at night because we know he's beating the shit out of you and we can't stop him!" I shout at her, just hoping it might sink in.

Dad shoves past Mom and me and stomps into the bedroom, slipping his feet into his shoes. "I don't have to take this from my wife, and now my son," he barks at us, gruffly. "I'm going out."

"Bobby, you're drunk," Mom protests.

"I don't give a damn," he fires back. "Maybe I'll die in a car accident and I won't have to come back to you." He grabs his wallet and storms out of the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

Once he's gone, Mom collapses at the foot of the bed, clinging to the hope chest, sobbing. She presses a hand against the side of her battered face, unable to stop crying.

"Mom," I murmur, putting an arm around her shoulders, "you can't let him continue to do this to you. You can't let him do this to us. He's killing you."

Mom sighs, running her fingers through my hair. "Brett..."

"Mom," I interrupt her, squeezing my arms around her shoulders, "you need to do something about him."

"Brett, I can't leave him," she says, wiping at her eyes.

"Why the hell not?!" I protest, grabbing her hand in mine.

"Because I just can't," she says, shoulders slumping. "I can't do it."

"Dammit, Mom, he's going to kill you," I whisper, fiercely.

Michelle runs into the room and throws herself into Mom's arms, hugging her arms around her neck and crying. "Mommy, will he kill you?"

Mom sighs, smoothing Michelle's curls and kissing her cheek. "Daddy isn't going to hurt me anymore," she says, holding my sister against her chest and getting to her feet. "He won't touch me anymore."

"How are you going to do that, eh Mom? Unless you leave him?" I ask, angrily.

Mom sighs. "I'm going to put Michelle back to bed. I don't want to discuss this anymore." Mom exits the room, holding Michelle in her arms.

***

Nobody knows Bobby Hull like I know Bobby Hull.

Every kid in high school thinks he's a god, and worships the ground he walks on. Whenever he comes to school events, the other kids are converging on him, to get autographs, calling him a hero. 

They don't know what happens beyond closed doors. They don't know how he hit mom in the head with the heel of her shoe. They don't know what he does to her when the cameras are off.

Unfortunately for me, I'll always be Bobby Hull's son.

**Author's Note:**

> The author of this piece intends no insult, slander, or copyright infringement, and is not profiting from this work. This story is a complete work of fiction and does not necessarily reflect on the nature of the individuals featured. This is for entertainment purposes only. If you found this story while Googling your name or the names of your friends, hit the back button now.


End file.
